


nocturne

by orphan_account



Category: Romeo And Juliet - Shakespeare
Genre: Different Names, Faeries - Freeform, M/M, minor civil conflict
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-05-07 13:11:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14671782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The first death he'd seen was seared into his memory. Just like the way Tibby had looked down at the man he had killed with soulless eyes. He looked that way now, turning his neck from the sky and over to where Ben stood by the door."Come here." Tiberius murmured.





	nocturne

It was at this time of night that Prince Tiberius saw it fit to order him to his chambers. When you’re a crown prince and heir to the throne of the Seelie Court, your demands are not often opposed by complaint. Especially not from the prince’s human servant who was bound to him for all eternity. In the beginning, pledging his life hadn’t seemed so bad, but as the exhaustion made even turning his head difficult, Ben realized the fault in his decision. 

Prince Tiberius would be the one to beckon him to his chambers. Roman would drowsily shove at his shoulders until he forced himself upright, brain too muddled to question why Princess Julia loomed in the corner of the bedroom like a stray puppy. All he knew was anger, though watered down by the countless times the Prince of Cats' demanded his company in the dead of night. As if he did not already serve the Prince's every beck and call during the day. It took most of his strength, if not all, to waken. 

He did not think of it until Julia's moon wide eyes widened at the state of his naked chest in the dull light of their bedroom. He knew the sight to be ghastly, but it would not surprise just anyone Roman took to bed. He stared at her, confused, although only for a moment. 

"Oh, Ben, I—" She began. 

"Shut up." He glared at her, his eyes sparking alight with irritation. Her sympathy was more a burden than the typical cold shoulder he received from the Fae. Roman looked as if he wanted to say something and perhaps Ben would regret it the next morning. But for now, he stomped (still quite delirious) out of the servant’s quarters and into the hall. 

Rose jumped to her feet as she saw him approach. There was a book hanging loosely in her fingers, the fireplace hissed at his approach. He thought he could smell the faint pinprick of smoke or feel the distant heat he had remembered from his village back in Thruston, until the illusion vanished and the flames shifted into something more artificial. 

"You lack clothes." She gasped. 

Ben could not resist rolling his eyes. "And you lack brains. Don’t you realize what time it is? I told you not to stay up so late, now you've got to face the hell of waking tomorrow morning. Do you think I'm going to wait for you as you scramble? Go to sleep." 

"What about you?"

"What about me?" 

"You're not asleep. Why shall I?" She crossed her arms, her finger slipping into the book in order to save her page. It was likely that as soon as he had left to accommodate whatever the prince needed, she’d remain awake, pouring intensely over her novel. He did not want to be the one to mother her, but while the Head Nurse slept there was no disturbing her. Especially if you were as sly and as quiet as Rose. Who snuck into the library at night and stole books. He was just happy they were not jewels. He knew what would happen to those who stole items of such importance to faeries. 

"You're right. I'm not asleep. Do you know who else happens to be not asleep? Do you know who has misfortune of serving him? Do you see these dark marks? You can thank Prince Tiberius. If I was in your position I'd be sleeping as soon as supper time was over." Ben insisted, gesturing towards the smudges beneath his eyes. Although he could not tell if it was the lack of sleep or the alcohol, he would not voice these concerns to Rose. 

"That is what you do." She snapped. "And Queen Capulet is more a nightmare than any that attempt to compare." 

"A daydream! When faced with the Prince." He retorted. 

“Absolu--”

“I don’t want to argue any longer. Please, go to sleep, Rose.” 

Before she could say more he trudged on through the threshold. The fire crackled angrily behind him, as if one of the salamanders themselves were there. He hoped Rose would fall asleep, she always did have a guilty conscience. He was not sure if he could handle lugging Tiberius' arrows to and from the courtyard. Nor the anxiety that one of them would brush to close to the prince's own nieces and nephews playing in the garden. 

It was plainly destructive behavior, but Ben would rather endure that then sit through another family dinner. He'd never seen her Majesty drink so much wine. Albeit a feat to have endured the presence of a human eating at equal rank, even for only a time. 

Speaking of destructive behavior, there was no surprise when Ben pushed open the half-open door to the prince's chambers and found Tiberius with a knife to some poor girl's throat. In her hand she clutched a necklace Tiberius had received from his aunt and uncle a fortnight ago. The girl had sought to steal it while the prince slept, little did she know of the man's midnight escapades. He must’ve caught her in the act. 

Ben took one step forward. There was a hiss of metal against a sheath, the glint of a dagger, and the smack of the hilt driving itself into the wood beside of Ben's head. He winced, and when he raised his fingers to the shell of ear. They came away spotted with blood. 

His eyes slid over to where several empty glasses were left on the table. It cemented his thoughts when the knife had come so close to impaling him to the wall. Tiberius was unaffected, though the servant girl's eyes were saucer-wide. 

"You're drunk." Ben spoke quickly, as if talking to a wild animal. "Let her go, before you cause even a greater ruckus." 

Tiberius glanced in his direction, his violet gaze causing a shiver to curl up Ben's spine. It was always as if he was staring straight through someone, right into the depths of their soul. Most of the Fae had that effect. He still hadn’t gotten used to it. 

"You're siding with a thief? Then I shall fear for your loyalty to the throne." Tiberius drawled, curving his other blade at an angle so it brushed against her throat. The girl squeezed her eyes shut, holding herself on her toes to stay away from the knife's edge. 

"As she is not one of the Fae. Of course she would be foolish enough to try and steal from the heir. You can see it in the way she trembles. Humans are weak creatures. You should not blame them for their frailties." 

The prince peered at him from beneath his brow, expression disbelieving. “I shall not blame them for their frailties, but excuse their crimes? What would become of the proclaimed benevolent rule of the Court? The resultant shall be just but not cruel.” 

“But not cruel.” Ben echoed. “Slicing her throat is more harsh than righteous.” 

“It is my nature.”

“To be exactly what people expect of you? A murderer? A savage?” Ben said, stepping forward so he was only a arm’s length away. Tiberius watched his movement as if he knew what Ben was planning before he even attempted it. And it was likely he did. His instincts were more sharp than the blade he held between his forefinger and thumb. It was better that Ben at least try to protect the poor girl. He could not resist with her eyes bore into him, begging, pleading that he do something. 

Tiberius would be the one to think this pathetic. So Ben raised his chin, not letting his confidence waver. There was a beat. Tiberius twisted the hilt in his palm once, then emitted a chuckle. Listlessly--anyone who knew the violent prince would see that his refusal to shed blood was a great battle won on Ben’s part--He let the blade fall, and the girl leapt from the wall and dashed into the hallway. 

Ben let the door fall shut behind him, letting the breath that had stuck itself in his throat out with a rush. His relief didn't last long, as Tiberius pivoted, twisting in his direction. 

"You challenge me?" 

Ben swallowed. "I was only trying to preserve order." 

"You are forever the diplomat." He mocked, tucking the blade back into its sheath. It glowed the same violet as the his gaze. “It comes by virtue of your innate immaturity. Your kind think they know right from wrong as if it is two sides of a coin. You view the world blindly. The girl has stolen from me. You protected her. You attempt manipulation, you lie.” 

"I was only telling the truth." 

"You think I easily succumb to flattery?" 

"I did not only think. I also knew.” Ben breathed. “You let her go, did you not?” 

“For the time being. If she is not gone by the morrow then she will be dead. By my hand or by the executioner, whichever is less cruel, in the eyes of the court.” Tiberius sneered. The way he referred to the court of his own breeding made Ben nervous. There had always been an element of distrust between Tiberius and the rest of the royal family. A disconnect, or divide, that separated him from them, not only by his vicious ways, but also by something hidden beneath the surface. 

"All of you faeries like to be told of your great transcendence from humanity." 

Tiberius paused, then followed with a shrug that took his lips along with it. "A strong argument, one I cannot refute so easily.” 

Ben stayed as still as possible, not budging from the door in case the Prince's quicksilver temper got the better of him. Ben thought it a great achievement to have made him drop the weapon. On the first day he had met the great Prince Tiberius Capulet he had witnessed the older stick a man for taking the last serving of ** smth. 

He still remembered with great clarity how the blood had flowed down the white tablecloth. It was designed not to collect, in case someone spilt their soul and managed to stain the delicate pearl strands. The small river of blood had made its steady crawl down to the very far end of the table, where it dropped off the edge, straight into the King's lap. 

Ben had been so horrified he'd tried to run away. But Roman had reminded him of his devotion to the Montague's so he's forced himself to stay put. He had not know on that day that he would become the manservant of someone like the Prince. He thought he would be working in the kitchens, as a butler, or a messenger boy, not a slave to a murderous faerie. 

The first death he'd seen was seared into his memory. Just like the way Tibby had looked down at the man he had killed with soulless eyes. He looked that way now, turning his neck from the sky and over to where Ben stood by the door. 

"Come here." Tiberius murmured. 

Ben hesitated. His previous adrenaline had faded almost as quickly as it had come. It was now replaced with his earlier fatigue, making his head thick and his limbs leaden. He considered ignoring the Prince altogether and retreating back into the comfort of his bed. What stopped him was the piercing stare Tiberius offered him in return to his reluctance.

He stepped forward until he was directly in front of the older. A shaft of moonlight cut across the prince's face. Leaving one half bathed in white light, revealing the vibrant purple of his pupils, and the other cloaked in shadow. Ben waited, staring back at them without flinching. 

"Why did you call me here?" Ben asked. "Cause of the maid? She won't be back anytime soon, I'll make sure of it." 

Tiberius snorted, his head rolling from his neck in a way that signaled mocking disbelief. 

"You'll make sure of it? You humans speak of notions too large for your own mouths. I could do a better job of disposing her, or you, as you deem it fit to contradict me so often. Truly, it would be...what do you call it..? A piece of cake." He flexed the muscles in his fingers, each knuckle rippling beneath his skin as if he was imagining crushing bones like twigs between each knot. 

"Your actions are extremely impulsive. You can't really blame me for acting in order to stop it. What if someone had found out you had murdered an innocent serving girl over spilled milk. This isn't the the Seelie Court, this is Verona." He countered, frown deepening upon hearing Tiberius' words. 

"Are you insinuating that killing a thief would start a war?" 

"That is a possibility."

Tiberius snorted. "One in which the humans would be crushed beneath our power. An attack would only become a detriment to their nation. It is your people's fortunate that accords were made between us, so that you may live peacefully despite your innate weaknesses." 

"The Fae are just as weak. You are a prime example." 

"Excuse me?" Tiberius bristled. Ben noticed the tic in his jaw. It appeared whenever the other became angry. Ben could not help but find the honesty of it to be amusing. There were many facets to the Prince's personality that surpassed his hostile exterior. Even if the great majority of the time the Prince of cat's was consumed with anger. 

"Don't you consider a temper to be a flaw?" Ben asked benignly, pretending not to notice Tiberius' eyes lowering. "You've killed a man for looking at you sideways. That sounds like a pretty big problem to me." 

"I've killed a human, over such trivial things. Never one of the Fae." Tiberius spat. 

"So, then, if they are human it makes it okay?" 

Tiberius hesitated, as if weighing his response. Ben's tone had been neutral, conversational, not angry. He was only asking a modest question, not launching an interrogation. 

"Humans are weak." He muttered. 

"You would kill me if I looked at you sideways?" 

Tiberius scoffed breezily, rising to his feet so that he towered over Ben. His blade danced in his tan fingers. The threat was veiled with the grin on the Prince's deceptive lips. He looked down at his servant as if daring another challenge. Ben's atypical behavior tonight was in response to the fact that he'd been waken up for the sake of the Prince's princess-ness. Princess Julia was more mature than this oaf. 

"I would kill you just to see your blood spew from your guts like a dinner hog." Tiberius spat. "I could snap your spine as easily as if it was a child's toy. I do not think you are in such a position that would allow you to mock me. I could—" 

"Yes, yes, you could tear my intestines and wear it as a scarf. I've got it now, your majesty, so I bid you a good night." Ben stepped neatly away from the Prince and to the door. Before striding out he turned to grace the Prince with some semblance of reassurance. "I was not jesting about my surety of it. I'm not as much of an idiot." 

He rounded the corner before the fuse had been blown. He had been too daring. Although his interactions with the crown prince of Verona tended not to be a cautionary tale. Perhaps this time he'd passed a boundary that was meant to stay in place. He hurried down the hall in case Tiberius came bounding after him. 

When he made it back to the servant's quarters he said nothing to Rose, who stiffened, as if preparing for a fight when he returned. Instead he back into the comfort of his bed and ignores the sympathetic eyes of Julia. It was likely the consequences would be regrettable. But it would all have to wait until morning.


End file.
